Apparatus for resetting rail anchor jaws



April 1940. L. J. DHENZ ET AL 2,195,450

APPARATUS FOR RESETTING RAIL ANCHOR JAWS Filed Nov. 25, 1936 Patented AprQZ, 1940 t v .1111:

mm: iom cz 2,195,450 .1 o f APPARATUS FOR nns rrlnc R IL ANoHon Leopold J. Denz, Chicago, and ArthuriDanicls, v South Minneapolis, Minn., assignors, hymesne v v assignments, to Poor &,Company, a corporaa tion ofDelaware t Vi Application November 23,1936, Serial 'No. 112,31 1

2 cl ims} (01. 153-211) '--"-Tlf 1 is'-invention relates to apparatus iorvreset ting'thejaws of rail anchors, removed from the rails aftera long periodof 'service,- so that the anchors when re-applied" to the rails will take a firin grip thereon. a I e'principal object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for conveniently and accurately resetting the jaw portions of rail anchors; particularly anchors of the type'adapted to-gripthe rails with resilient pressure, where" by the reconditioned anchors may be: driven or otherwise re-applied to the rails without dangerof spreading the jaws beyond their elastic limits. According to, the present invention, therail erippingfiaws of anchor devices removed from the railsare restoredto substantially theirbriginal contour by-placingxthe jaw portions of the anchors between clamping elements which exert I increasingpressure thereon to bend the jaw;por

tions of the anchorsto such positions as will provide a predetermined resilient grip on the rail "base when-theanchor is driven ina direction to force the jaw portion thereof onto the base flange of a rail. A relatively gradual -increas e:in the observe the condition of the jaw from time to l i time asthe bending progresses so that the application'of pressure can be immediately interrupted when the-jaw portions have been bent to the desired position. f I -'-'A further'and more ventionis toprovide a portable apparatus of simple and inexpensiveconstruction which' may be move'd along -a railway track in accordance A v I I -flhe rail anchor device herein shown'in connection with the apparatus of thepresent inven- "tion is a well known form of one-piece rail anchor adapted to be driven inthe direction of With-the progress "of the" work" being performed by a track-repair crew and thereby bereadily available for resetting the rail anchor jaws immediately following-the removal of the anchors from a rail. To this end the apparatus'comprises a hand operated lifting jack or other-.1 suitable pressure applying device and a'frame structure therefor which are mounted on a track "repairmans push car. This arrangement provides a Meek "movable apparatus which can bemoved 5 over the track for long distances without tiring the wo'rkmenand which also positions the verti-'- cally. movable pedestal portion of the jack and the hand'operating mechanism thereforat acon- Venientheight-for use by: a workman standing on specific object or the mtheground. The pressurefapplying device, for

example the lifting jack shown herein, issuch that it is capable of developing relatively high pressure so that a rail anchor device clamped between the movable pedestal of the jack-and a stationary abutment of the frame structure can be readily bentw'ithout substantial exertion on the'part of the workmen. The several parts of "the jack and'frame structure are ofsufficient v rigidity to'prevent-fiexingbr yielding ofthe parts during the bending of an anchor-"device and therebyavoid creating resilient pressure which mightother'wise carry the bending of the anchor beyond the'limits intended.

' .Y-L'Other'objects and advantages of the invention willbe readilyfapparent from the following detailed description of one approved form'of apparatus-embodying the principles or the invention.

; In the drawing: Y

1 is a face view in elevation of a portable apparatus constructed in accordance with this in- 1' Fig. 2"'is a side view-in elevation of the structure'shown in Fig. 1, and o 1 Fig.3 is'a fragmentary detail view of one form of rail anchor positioned between'the clamping elements of the apparatus so that movement of one of-the' clamp elements toward the other will bend the upper and lower jaws of the anchor in a manner to partially close the space between saidjaws. W A A v r Referring to the drawing the apparatus herein shown may be described generally as comprising .a movable supporting member It, a frame memher I l secured to the movable support, a pressure element 1I2 associated with said frame and said I movable support, and means, preferably-a hand operated'ele'ment' l3, iorope'rating the pressure element to apply suitable bending pressure to the jaw portions l4-l5 of a rail anchor device It.

its; length'into gripping engagement withthe aresilient grip onthetop and bottom surfaces of the rail base flange at one side of the rail and the abutment shoulder at'the other end of the'anchor' engages avertic'al edge portion of the 15 base portion of a rail.- When the anchor is in its applied position the jaws Hiand' IS exert for the purpose of illustration and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be restricted to resetting of the jaws of the particular rail anchor shown. c

The movable support ll] of the present embodiment of the invention is preferably a car adapted to be moved along the rail H, for example, a push car such as is ordinarily used by a crew of track repairmen.

Securedto the flooring of the car, preferably near one edge thereof, isa base member l8 on which is mounted the frame member II. This member preferably comprises a metal strip bent to yoke form with its arms l9'20 extending upwardly. The upper ends ofsaid-frame arms are connected and rigidified by means of a U- shaped member 2! which is interposed between and secured to the upper end portions of the arms l92fl to provide a fixed abutment for the rail anchor during the resetting of its jawportions.

, Thepressure applying means I2, illustrated herein, is a portable lifting jack of a type used by railway repair crews and comprises a casing removably positioned on the bottom portion of the frame structure between the. arms !9 -20 thereof. The said jack member is preferably of the type which is provided with a vertically movable" screw'22. Removably secured to the upper end of the screw 22 is a pedestal plate 23,

the opposite ends of which are recessed to embrace the frame, arm members Ill-20. The recesses formed in the ends of the pedestal plate provide guide members 24' which slidably engage the edge portions of the frame arms and thereby maintain'the jack and pedestal plate in proper position relative to the. abutment. member 2|. The under surface of the abutment member 2| and the top surface of the pedestal plate 23 are provided with hardenedmetal wearing plates'or pads25, 26 and 21.

be of any suitable or desired shape to maintain the anchor device in proper position to insure the application of the bending force in the appropriate direction to restore the jaws of the anchor to their origina1 positions. t

As shown in, the drawing, the lower jaw l of the rail anchor is supported ,on the pad 26 so that the upper jaw It will bear at its inner end only against thewearing pad 25 of the abutment 2|. The upward movement of the jack pedestal plate 23exerts a strong clamping force on the jaws l4l5 of the anchor and thereby forces the jaws toward each other. The bending force is, distributed over the curved portion of the anchor which connects the upper and lowenjaws and thereby insures proper positioning of the rail en-- gaging surfaces l ll -l5 of the. anchor jaw to provide the desired fit on the top and bottom surfaces of a rail base flange. In order to avoid imposing unequal strains on the apparatus, the

anchor is positioned: in the apparatus so that the anchor jaws will bear on the pads 2526 at substantially equal distances from the vertical. center of the screw member 22 of the jack. The

frame rigidifying strap members 28 and. 29 assist in naintaining the jack, structure in a properly centralized position. i

Arevoluble operating shaft 3| extends out of the jack casing and is provided with suitable connections, within, the casing, for imparting raising and lowering movements to the-screw element 22 The saidconnections between the shaft and screw are not illustrated herein, since the decharge of the jaw resetting apparatus.

These pads are welded to. their associated parts of the apparatus and. may

tails of construction and operation of a jack of the type herein shown, are well known. It is clamping action of the anchor jaws |4--l5 between the said pedestal 23 and the, abutment 2|, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. Rotation of the shaft 3| in the opposite direction imparts a lowering movement to the said screw 22, and

pedestal 23 so as to relieve the pressure exerted on the jaw portionsiof the anchor device. vertically movable screw 22 will in a manner known, retain any adjusted position without the use of special locking devices to prevent reverse movement of the operating shaft. In other words, the screw 22 and pedestal 23 will remain in any position in which they are moved until that position is changed by positive rotation of the shaft-3|.

The said operating shaft 3|; is -rotated by means. of a plurality of radially extending arms 32 which are riveted or otherwise suitably, secured to a, central flange member 33 fixed on the shaft 3|. In the drawing, the hand operated mechanism includes four arms. 32. It will be obvious, however, that. the number of such arms may be increased if a greater number is desired.

In operation, the push car onwhich the pressure applying mechanism is supported'is placed on a railway track and moved along with-the track repaircrew. Certain members of the repair crew who are in advance of the push car remove from the rail any ofthe rail anchordevices which might require'resetting of their jaws.

Thesaid anchors, when they are removed from the raiLIare tossed onto the push car so as to be within easy reach of the workmen having The anchor devices areoperated upon to reset their jaws, in the manner hereinbefore described, and are then dropped onto theground atrthe rear of the car, wherethey are re-applied to th'e rails by other members of. the repair crew.

By the use of a screw type jack, such as i1- lustratecl in the present embodiment, the application of pressure to' the anchor is gradual and there is little or. no tendency for the power exerted, when the anchor jaws first begin to bend, to surge forward and thereby bend. the jaws be! yond the limits necessary to restore them to their voriginal positions. The, ease with which the screw. jack mechanism is operatedmakes it possible to closely observe the bending of the anchor and to interruptthe bending operation at any time desired' While the invention is illustrated in one specific embodiment, it will be obvious that vari-.- ous modifications may be made without departure 'from the principles of. the invention. It should be understood, therefore, that the invention is not restricted to the specific form and constructi'ons herein shown and describedexcept insofar as the claims appended hereto are specifically limited.

We claim: 1. An apparatus for use in railwaytrack repair .Work to reset the jaws of rail anchors preliminary to the reapplication of said anchors to the track rails, comprising a frame including ametal. strip ing clamping force on bendable portions of a, resilient rail anchor to reset the said portions to predetermined positions, and means for portably supporting the said assembly for movement along a railway track in accordance with the progress of the workmen who remove the anchors from the rail and re-apply them. a

2. An apparatus for use in railway track repair work to reset the jaws of rail anchors, ,com-

between and secured to the sides of said U- shaped member, a portable non-surging pressure applying device positioned in said frame and having hand actuated means for operating the said device, and a movable head slidably engaging the said frame and interposed between said pressure applying device and the fixed abutment of the frame, whereby the said abutment/and said "head provide clamping jaws for exerting bending pressure on the'jaw portions of a rail 10 anchor positioned between them; 

